One is swashbuckling, the other robustly controversial. Swarming
with a sea of devotees, they are not people you can remain neutral
about: You either love or dislike them passionately. Now, both are
united in two highly controversial issues that won’t just go away. Lord,
have mercy!
Trouble seemed to have agreed to visit the pastor and the general
overseer almost at the same time. There is the news of a private jet,
belonging to Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor of the Word of Life Bible Church,
Warri, as well as, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria,
CAN, impounded in South Africa for illegally exporting $9.3 million
into that country. The money was reportedly to be used for the purchase
of arms for the Nigerian military, ostensibly to fight Boko Haram.
Then, the second ugly news: A six-storey building under construction,
belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, led by Pastor
Temitope Joshua, popularly known as T.B Joshua, had suddenly collapsed,
killing over 150 persons, and possibly more, as casualty figure keeps
rising.
In a country where news and daily occurrences are fast losing its
shock ability, it was still shocking to many Nigerians, that a revered
man of God and leader of one of the largest religious groups, the
Christian community, would allow himself to be dragged into a highly
controversial issue of alleged currency smuggling and arms deal. Pastor
Ayo has tried to explain that even though the aircraft belonged to him,
he was in no way involved in the dark transaction. He could have been
talking to the deaf, as people are listening to and believing what they
want to: There are those who truly believe him and swear he really
didn’t have anything to do with the dollars or arms deal while others
are quite unwilling to give him benefit of the doubt: He had been in
hot romance with the Jonathan government, and was possibly running
errand for the government but it turned sour, in the South African
misadventure.
Two voices, to me, exemplify the two positions. Former aviation
minister, the tempestuous Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, represent the first.
Fani-Kayode has argued strongly in his write-ups that Pastor Oritsejafor
is being set up for blackmail and lampoon by those who do not wish him
and the Christian faith well. He absolves the CAN leader of any
complicity in the deal-gone-awry.
But Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, the equally fiery Anthony Cardinal
Olubunmi Okogie, belongs in the latter category. He believes strongly
that the CAN leader has been too close for comfort to the government at
the centre. In an exclusive interview with Saturday NEW TELEGRAPH,
Okogie lambasted Oritsejafor for the scandalous outing in South Africa.
To the Catholic bishop, the CAN leadership has dragged the Christian
community into disrepute by what happened.
In the case of Pastor Joshua, the criticisms have equally been
acidic. With a harvest of deaths and more still being excavated in the
rubble of the collapsed structure, the tears and outrage have not
stopped flowing. Questions are being asked over the integrity of the
structure; why should a building suddenly just cave in, if standard
materials were used and if necessary building specifications were
adhered to?
However, Joshua, the man at the centre of the storm, dismisses the
allegation of substandard materials and lack of adherence to building
standards. He has been talking and showing videos of alleged mystery
plane that flew over the structure before it dissolved into debris. He
has been talking of alleged failed terrorism attack on his person and
ministry. He has been weaving different kinds of conspiracy theories.
But that has neither stopped the South African authority, whose
nationals were most affected in the day of hell, nor other aggrieved
Nigerians from demanding a thorough probe of the incident. And the heat
is on.
As is usual with ugly news of the above dimensions (the Oritsejafor
and Joshua affairs), it is not strange that public commentators have
since waded in, talking and taking positions, as they see it. But it
does become increasingly obvious to me that politics seems to have
obfuscated the real issues while what ought to have been the salient
issues have been muddled up. This, sadly, is the era of the flight of
logic and common sense in national discourse.
These, then, are my views on the Oritsjafor-Joshua issues. First, if a
country is to be governed by the rule of law, rather than sentiments
and respect of status, the authorities ought to have begun the
immediate interrogation of both the pastor and general overseer. It is
not enough to impute political motives or blame it on detractors of the
CAN leader in the South African debacle. Was his plane used? Yes, he has
admitted. Was it an illegal operation? Let the law find out and deal
with it. Was the revered pastor an agent of the military/security forces
or government in the arms deal? Let the security agencies unravel that
and provide the public with logical explanations. Was it morally right
for the pastor to have dabbled into such issue, if it is established
that he did? That should be in the court of public opinion and public
domain. If all these questions are answered and nothing untoward is
established against him, let the relevant government organs and
agencies say so publicly. To keep mute or seek to sweep the issue under
the carpet merely infuriates more Nigerians and provokes more
questions. We need to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but
the truth. A nation seeking to make progress should not, never, be
anchored on the fear or respect of man but of God and the law. Pastor
Oritsejafor himself will emerge the biggest beneficiary, if the public
do not perceive any attempt by powerful forces to sweep the issue under
the carpet. Let’s have an open inquiry into the matter so that its
ghost can be laid to rest for now and forever. Otherwise, it would
always return to haunt him.
I also hold the same view in the collapsed church building of
Synagogue. A probe or inquiry is necessary to establish the culpability
or otherwise of the owners of the church. Did the overseer breach
relevant building code in seeking to circumvent an approval for a
two-storey building and turn it to six-storey, as alleged? Did he use
substandard materials or cut corners? Who approved additional floors for
him? These are the issues we should be talking about. Any other thing
is shadow-chasing. I am no prophet or scientist but I don’t believe in
the story of a hovering plane and moments later, a collapsed structure.
It is something akin to tales by moonlight or, better still, a cock and
bull bullshit. Let the man who owned the structure be made to face
relevant laws of the land guiding such issues. We can’t have two sets
of laws: One for the common man, and another for the privileged; one for
laity and a separate one for the clergy. All men are equal before God.
All men should be equal before the law. If the law finds the men
blameless, so be it; if found wanting, let it take its course.
Finally, there is something missing in the utterances and defence of
the pastor and the general overseer: The word ‘sorry.’ Not necessarily
because they are wrong or have been found guilty. But for the
embarrassment (in the case of Oritsejafor) and agony (in Joshua’s case)
they have put their friends, family, associates, admirers and nation
through. The true measure of greatness is the ability and willingness to
apologise, even when you are not wrong, so says an English sage. I
agree.
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